Communication is key to maintaining good relationships with clients
Much of the following is from an excellent article by Patrick Delehanty, Marketing Manager, Marcel Digital—with some of my own input
For starters, I would say that close communication and collaboration is key for healthy client relationships. One of the best ways to do this is to set up a regular meeting. At Smart PR Communications, we have a standing meeting with every client every week. We are insistent about this and our clients appreciate it. This serves a number of purposes such as:
1. It allows all of us to review what took place the prior week.
2. It sets the agenda for the coming week.
3. It allows all of us to discuss issues before they escalate.
4. It eliminates surprises on both sides.
The main reason that client relationships break down is that they don’t feel they are getting results. In many cases they are, but the results haven’t been communicated beyond an emailed end of month report.
It’s our job to hear clients’ words, process them, ask thoughtful follow up questions, and continue rigorous conversation. When we do this, we are showing our desire to not only help the client but to understand what our clients are saying and then provide them with a solution that genuinely meets their needs and goals.
Don’t lose sight of your clients’ goals. Everything you do; from strategy to recommendations to execution, and fine tuning should be done with one purpose: helping your client achieve business goals. It is also important to keep clients’ apprised of progress and the work accomplished toward achieving their goals.
A strong business relationship is based on understanding, accountability, and continuous trust. If you are willing to engage your clients on a deeper level and commit to a mutual understanding of what success looks like in that relationship, you’re far more likely to keep those clients into perpetuity.
Patrick Delehanty’s full article is here: https://www.illinoistech.org/news/why-your-relationships-with-clients-break-down
